BENNINGTON — A North Bennington man is being held in prison after being charged with four felonies recently involving an allegation that he tried to choke an 8-year-old child three times

William J. Borden, 35, of North Bennington, was arraigned in Bennington criminal court last week on three felony counts of first-degree aggravated domestic assault. On Wednesday, a felony charge of obstructing justice was added in the same court.

Borden, who pleaded innocent to all the charges, was also charged as a habitual offender. Someone who has been convicted of three or more felonies can be charged as a habitual offender and, if convicted, could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

Borden has three previous felony convictions for aggravated domestic assault from 1998 and 2004 and a felony conviction for unlawful restraint from 2004.

In an affidavit, police said they spoke with the child on June 3. The child said Borden had choked him on three occasions, at the child’s home, in a car after a baseball game and at the home of an unidentified witness in Shaftsbury.

The obstructing justice charge was filed based on allegations by the witness that Borden had tried to intimidate her while she was trying to describe the incident to police. She said Borden was with her when police called her about the incident and said he tried to force her to hang up.